Broken Chains
by animeshipper000
Summary: A mysterious person has arrived in the city of Orario and this event has made change to the Hestia Familia. This person seems to know Bell but how? A story of adventure and romance is underway. Will Bell be able to get along with this new person or will he have a new enemy to fight? Romance is intended for Bell x Hestia or possibly a harem. Any advice for story is welcomed.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: Hello readers! Thanks for taking the time to actually click this story to read! I haven't been writing here for a while so I decided to start fresh. This story will revolve with some events from canon but I will also add some spice of my own to the story. I am currently not able to use my laptop but please be assured that I still have means to write in here. As soon as I get my laptop, my updates could get even faster but please forgive me if I don't update quickly since school will be coming up soon.**

 **Anyways, that is it for now so please enjoy my new ongoing story!**

* * *

Somewhere in the woods near the city of Orario, a fully cloaked person struggled to keep going in these conditions. He was so close to the city which he hasn't seen for a long time but something kept making him stop in his tracks. Is it maybe the one left eye that he lost from being a careless little boy and running to the dungeon defenseless? He wanted to show his little brother that he could become an adventurer but that one event has scarred him.

Now, he wears a silver eye patch slung around his eye to hide his shame. His silver hair manages to hide the truth about his shame but the limits of his silver hair hiding it was very small. He hasn't seen this city due to certain circumstances but after 10 long years of trauma, he has come back. His right eye was colorless gray and his cloak was only hiding his weary body.

The identity of this mysterious man is known as Will Haliers. His silver hair was messy and cut uneven as if he'd been through a lot of trouble in going to the city. His right eye was deep gray while the other was covered.

The sunny sunrise began to blind the guy. He had to get to the city and try to find a Familia... quick. His past was not a good one and he didn't want it to worsen. Just when he exited the woods and took another long walk, he finally took his first steps on the city grounds. He starts huffing in exhaustion before leaning on a nearby wall and slowly sliding down with his back.

Under his heavily cloaked body, wounds and scars could already be found. He has been alone all this time but one thing has always come in his mind.

"He is here... I can never forget that face and I never will..."

His ragged breath started feeling like only sand in a bottle once he said that. No soul was there to help him in the past and so as the present. In closer inspection, he had a spear hanged on his back and a hood to cover his face. He really did have a companion once but he never trusted any more adventurers as soon as the incident that changed his life occured. Although, that is a story for another time.

His face now trembles from the fatigue he felt but none of the many people pitied the man. How merciless, he thought.

Just before he lost himself to the heavy fatigue he felt, he muttered with an anxious tone,

"Bell Cranel... you are in this city, are you not?"

* * *

Something felt different for Bell. Well yes, he has just recently joined the Hestia Familia a few days ago but he felt a stange feeling someone or something needed him. His experience with the dungeon is still a very short one so he plans on training whenever possible. Hestia has allowed him to be a part of the familia even if he was kicked out and looked down by everyone else.

Well, he did look young for his age to be in a harsh dungeon like that.

His most preferred weapon is a dagger, which can allow him to be quick and agile around the monsters around him. His silver hair was slightly messed up due to only waking up recently and the drowziness continued to torment him.

He was supposed to be in the dungeon for his training to be able to gain access to the lower floors aside from 1 and 2 but he needed to take a few supplies for precaution. Eina has always been worried for him ever since he started but Hestia was just as worried for his welfare. Hestia would probably always sigh with relief as soon as he got back from his daily routine, up until evening.

Everything was prepared... more or less. The amount of Valis which was needed for his purchases were not too high so he could probably save up for some new armor or something.

There was quite a crowd in the city square which confused the boy. Well, he knew the place would usually be crowded in the morning for supplies but this seemed strangely not a coincidence. He could even hear some mutters coming from the different people in the area.

"What is that man doing? Is he another one of those people looking for a familia?" a woman whispered to another woman.

"Is he actually dead? He's not moving an inch... poor guy," another person felt pity but refused to help the unconscious guy.

Bell couldn't help but feel even more pity for this guy. Not only did he look like a torn rag doll, but he also reminded Bell of himself before he joined the familia of Hestia. Regardless of how shy and timid he was, he starts squeezing to the crowd to get a better look at him. At first glance, Bell couldn't help but think that this guy appeared much related to his own appearance. Yes, silver hair is the main part which convinced him about that... minus the eyepatch covering his left eye of course. To him, he was like an older version of himself except the part where he had no familia.

Just as Bell was right in front of the man, that man suddenly grabbed Bell by the wrist, Shocking Bell and the crowd as a result. Despite his obvious weak state, the grip of the man was powerful enough to prevent any escape for the timid boy.

"Bell Cranel... you are in my grip, are you not?" the injured man ignored the painful cramps of his body and continued gripping the wrist of Bell, "I've been looking for you for a very long time so let me intro-"

Without warning, he collapsed on Bell and drifted into a sudden slumber. This did not go unnoticed by Bell though. At first, he panicked when a cold and lifeless body fell on him but he did feel that this guy really needed him.

With no reason to leave him alone, Bell barely carries the guy and supports him by putting the weight of this guy on his shoulder. He is noticeably taller than Bell so it took a while for Bell to find a good way to carry this guy. Now that he thinks about it, he has never actually heard the name of him. Hestia wouldn't mind him bringing home a lifeless body right? He isn't actually dead but the way his body feels cold really can mislead anyone.

The day was still a young bright morning. Usually, this would mean a very quiet and rather calm morning but right now, many people were mumbling to each other once more due to the sight of Bell carrying a complete stranger to him.

I hope he'll be okay, Bell thought, he does feel abnormally cold but I can't help but feel tallhat this isn't a normal feeling of coldness...

Of course, Bell kept struggling from ever step he took. His body is still not matured enough due to his age still being a young 14. He couldn't guess the age of the guy since his fatigued expression was worrying him too much.

The abandoned church is not very far ahead but the body being supported by his shoulders is really slowing him down.

Seconds later, a very cold of a person has actually made Bell drop on the ground with the body by 'accidentally' pushing him. From noticing the expression and armor of the man who did this, he was definitely a very proud and arrogant advenurer. This resulted to a pained gasp from the boy. This guy really is heavier than he looks!

As soon as Bell dropped, the cause of this accident started laughing with a grin and eventually left with his companions. Bell knew he shouldn't be easily aggravated by this so he tried to carry the body once again and stood up. He sighs a bit after that and continues his way to the church. It shouldn't take more than 3 minutes before he finally arrives in the home of the Hestia familia.

Unknown to Bell, a certain small girl saw the whole scene and bit her lip after watching how the other people reacted to him.

Adventurers... they're all the same, she thinks to herself before heading back into the alley she has just came from.

Finally, after several minutes of carrying a body that felt lifeless, Bell has entered his familia's home and places the body on the couch before panting to himself. If this was counted as a way to increase his strength, he would have increased it by a few points now.

Hestia seems to have left already. She did tell Bell that she would be having a part-time job to contribute to the funding of their familia but he didn't think she'd leave right after he left.

For now, he sat on a wooden chair near the couch to try and examine the fatigued body in front of him. That cold feeling he felt from him remained unchanged.

"Is he really dead?" Bell questioned himself as he stares in worry at the body. "Hopefully Kami-sama will be here soon... she'll know what to-"

Bell's words were interrupted once again by a hard grip on his wrist.

"Bell... Cranel..." a weak mutter came from the guy, "before I collapse again... My name is..."

"Don't speak," Bell managed to say as he worried for the injured man, "you can tell me everything after you get treated!"

The man reluctantly nods but he still muttered anyway, "Will... Haliers..."

Will then collapses once again and that is when, Hestia suddenly came running from the door like she was being chased but that was not the case. Apparently, she heard the commotion happening in the square and rushed home right after getting permission from her employer and asking the people in the crowd about what happened a while ago.

The reason why she came running home, you ask? She was notified that the person who appeared half-dead was a guy with silver hair, which made her feel uneasy. Hestia didn't want to take any chances so she rushed home to check on the only familia she had. Many have rejected Bell like how many rejected her so she felt deep worry for him. If he was gone, she would feel alone once again and she didn't want that.

She was in relief that the descriptions were not intended to Bell but she did not let the sight of the injured guy on the couch comfort her. She quickly rushes to his side, along with Bell. The cloak he wore was still on him so they removed the clothing to give him some air. Once they did that, the numerous scratches and wounds could be seen on his arms and a bit of his chest. He still had a bit of metallic armor under his cloak.

His spear was placed on the table and the rest of his armor were removed so that they could see if there were any vital wounds that may kill him. Fortunately, none of the wounds seemed vital enough to kill him but any more blood loss really can.

Bell and Hestia quickly rummage for the first-aid supplies in the house. After gathering some of the supplies for patching up the wounds, they both quickly return to the body. Bell quickly takes

out the supplies he bought from the store not so long ago and made Will drink up a potion to allow the pain he feels to lessen. The potion seems to have done its job since Will started to finally feel a bit warm, much to their relief.

"What exactly happened to him, Bell-kun?" the petite goddess asked in curiosity.

"I'm not sure myself, Kami-sama," Bell responded with a bit of confusion, "I only found him unconscious on the ground. No one was helping him so I just couldn't bring myself to just leave him there... I hope you understand, Kami-sama..."

"Of course I understand," Hestia nods earnestly as they both continue to treat the injured Will, "let's just focus on treating his wounds first alright, Bell-kun?"

"Hai, Kami-sama!" Bell nods and continues to treat the injured man with help from Hestia.

Several minutes pass before they actually finish patching up his wounds with wrapped bandages and some cloth to give him some support. Bell and Hestia both sigh in relief after the treatment has completed. For now, they agree to wait for him to wake up so that they could know the true story behind his appearance.

Will later wakes up from his slumber and glances at the two faces staring at him. He sighs in a bit of shock as he notices that all his wounds were treated and that he actually well for a change. Did they actually help a stranger like him? This thought caught him off-guard.

"You two..." Will felt speechless as he noticed that the ones who treated his injuries were the person he was looking for, and the goddess Hestia, "helped me? But why? People would normally ridicule me for my appearance... so why bother to help me? All I wanted is to see one more thing before I lose myself so now I can just-"

"Please don't continue your words..." Hestia muttered in a bit of sadness as if she knew the next set of words he was about to tell.

Will sighed before sitting up from his position and getting a better sight of Bell and Hestia. He knew that as a man of honor, he must repay this big favor to them somehow. Yes, he had that spear for a reason that is yet to be told. He knew exactly what to do.

"I am grateful for what you have both done to me so may I ask just one more request?" he groggily stands up, much to the worry of them, "May I join this familia, Hestia-sama?"

"Wait... what?!" the surprise Bell and Hestia felt was understandable. Anybody would have been shocked to hear a sudden proposal like that.

As a surge of confusion passed through the two of them, Will had other things going on in his mind.

As long as I can relieve this guilty heart... I will be fine, Will continued to watch the somewhat renewed excitement in Hestia's eyes before thinking once more to himself, this will be fun after all.

A smile soon appears on Will's face as he stares at the people with him, "Please take care of me, Hestia-sama," he then turns to the young boy with a small grin in his mind, "and Bell-san..."

The rest of the morning was lively and actually normal after that. Bell's plan to even train in the dungeon today was changed to giving a small tour to the new guy. He had to make him meet Eina and help him get familiar with the city and stuff. Interesting days are about to come.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Thanks for the read and few faves and follows minna! The next chapter will start with a slightly changed canon scene so I hope you'll look forward to that**!


	2. Experience the Dungeon

Roughly 2 weeks have passed since Bell has joined the familia and it has been roughly a week since Will did. Due to being in the same familia, Bell managed to catch a chat with the man at times. The aura of a loner still resides in his companion though. Yes, he did manage to provide many assists for Bell in battle but something about him still felt cold to Bell. You could really feel that Will was a lone wolf for a long time because of his mostly cool silence.

What really made him join the familia?

Bell sometimes had these thoughts but he kept it to the guess where he felt grateful for them and that was it.

They were both currently in Floor 5 after being able to defeat the monsters in the previous floor with almost half an effort... having a party really did feel like a reassurance to Bell. Bell's movements easily circle around the monsters and allow him to land a deadly hit with his dagger. For those opponents out of Bell's reach, Will would provide cover by using his mid-range spear to pierce their opponents. This combo between them continued to show results as their team coordination increased.

Both of them still had no skills but their stats were pretty alike. An example of their balance is that Bell had better agility but Will had better constitution. Bell's magic was still dead zero but for some reason, Will had some small points in that aspect.

Some usual monsters could be seen in the dungeon like goblins and some other creatures like a giant rat. They haven't stopped their combo on the monsters they found though. Whenever one of those stones are left by a vanquished monster, the team would gather these stones for later converting these stones into Valis.

A fair amount of minutes pass before Bell and Will decide to take a break and eat a snack. They sit together by a large rock and start to feel a bit comfortable after some time. Will takes out a loaf of bread from the pouch slung on his belt and breaks it in half, giving the slightly bigger one to Bell. Bell would sometimes complain that Will shouldn't always give him the bigger half but Will has always insisted in taking the smaller portion.

After a minor argument, Bell finally obliges to the stubborn guy and takes the bigger share. Bell has always felt guilty by this occasion but he decides to just let it go and start consuming his share of the bread.

"By the way, Will-san," Bell managed to speak after taking a nibble on his share, "may I ask a question know you better?"

"Sure, you know that my age is 18 so what else do you want to know?" Will raises an eyebrow as he stares at the curious face of his young conrade.

Bell hesitates a bit before asking, "How did you get that eyepatch?" this question causes Will to grimace, much to the dismay of Bell. Bell starts to stutter with surprise as he continues, "Y-You don't have to tell me if you-"

"It's alright," Will quickly forgives the boy then finishes the last of his share of bread with one big bite, "but I really do not wish to talk about my eye to you... not just yet."

After that, an awkward silence develops between them. To break the tension, Will quickly takes out a small bottle from his pouch and pops out its cork before drinking it with a long gulp. This action receives a curious glance from Bell. The small bottle was probably some kind of potion but Bell couldn't help but feel curious by the long exhale Will gave after drinking that small vial of mystery.

Will still wore his long cloak which almost appeared like a cape so whatever he had in his secret pockets were still a mystery, even to Hestia. Whatever it was, Bell had a feeling he didn't want to know.

"A bit curious, aren't you?" Will starts to give a mischievous smirk as he gets another vial of the same kind from his pouch. He then questions his comrade, "Want to try a vial, Bell? I call this mixture I made, The Will Special!"

Reluctantly, Bell accepts the vial and pops the cork out of it. The cave in the area was clear so they didn't have to worry about any sudden ambushes for now. They had to start moving though... not before Bell tested his curiosity.

Bell was about to take a sip until Will stated something a bit too late, "Oh... please be mindful that since you're still 14," the warning of Will was too late since Bell had already started drinking up what was inside the small vial. Will seemed to have not noticed that Bell had already drank the drink since he stood up and muttered his warning way too late, "you can only have a small sip, no more and no less. Any more than that and you'll be all..."

As soon as Will looks down to glance at the younger guy, he shouts in complete shock, "B-Bell-san!"

Bell has never felt this dizzy in his entire life. Did Will actually place liquor in those vials of his? Despite that small dose, Bell could already feel deep in dizziness. He was just about to go on some drunk conversation if not for Will quickly forcing him to gulp down another substance in a vial. Fortunately, that other vial has managed to remove the effects of the last drink, causing a long sigh from Will.

It takes a few more minutes for Bell to recover from that sensation so Will decides to cover him as he recovers from that sudden feeling. Will chuckles a bit since he never expected Bell to drink the whole vial of his special drink!

Seems like he still can't handle those stuff, Will thinks to himself as he observes the recovery of Bell, maybe my other 'special' would prove to be in his liking?

They soon resume their exploration of Floor 5 while carefully defeating the monsters in their way. Will would usually be the vanguard to strike for the farther monsters while Bell would strike for any agile monster since he is just as agile as them. This combo went unchanged and so was their gathering of the stones until a very loud roar echoed in the dungeon.

The roar they heard was louder than even of a lion's Even giant footsteps could be heard from the distance, indicating that this isn't just some figment of imagination.

"What... was that?" Bell feels a shiver down his spine. This isn't an ordinary monster right now.

"It was probably just a-"

Suddenly, the rocks behind them were blown away by an astonishing force. This causes both of them to scatter and stand ground in different areas. As the dust made from that collision subsided, the next sight was what shocked the two. It was a... minotaur! A minotaur should be in the deeper depths so this seemed like a bad change of luck.

"Bell... run," Will muttered as he was deep in focus while staring at the bull, "We cannot take this opponent head-on so take the window of opportunity I'm about to make and run the hell out of here..."

"I won't just leave you behind!" Bell quickly rejected the idea.

"Don't be naive!" Will scolds the boy as he tries to find a way to catch the minotaur's attention.

The minotaur was now in attack mode as it started hammering around and barely missing both of them. Bell actually made a misstep, resulting to a big opening on him. Just when he was about to be slammed by the fist, a peculiar feeling could be felt. Will has actually rushed to parry the attack!

The minotaur grumbles and starts a barrage on Will, eventually slamming him to a nearby wall. This causes him to drop on the ground, barely moving.

"Will-san!"

The minotaur bellows in triumph as it inches closer to the defenseless Will. He was still conscious but his constant shaking didn't look so good.

Of course, the attention of the minotaur has been directed to Will... but not for long. Bell slashes at the legs of the minoaur and starts a taunt. There was no way Bell would just let a beast take out one of his comrades! Too bad his dagger didn't really give much of a scratch to the sturdy beast.

"Catch me if you can!" Bell taunts the monster by waving his dagger at the beast.

Well, the rest of what happened? Nothing much. Just a very long chase has commenced, with Bell almost being trampled by the monster. He knew that if he escaped out of the dungeon, the minotaur would go back to Will and finish him off so he had to keep this monster at bay to at least allow Will to recover.

This charade lasts for a couple of minutes and it seems like Bell has led the minotaur very distant from his comrade already. Too bad the deeper he went in the floor, the fewer the routes he could use.

Of course, he was soon cornered by the beast. With his back bumped into the stone wall, he really thought it was the end. Both of them were going to die and it was just because they weren't strong enough. Bell blamed himself for the idea of coming here in the first place but that wouldn't change anything. Everything felt like it was the end...until he noticed a sudden slash come from behind the monster.

Before he knew it, the monster was vanquished easily as another slash came from the same direction, causing the blood to spatter all over his face. The monster bellows in pain before giving one final breath and disappearing.

That's when Bell saw her, beautiful long golden hair accompanied by those beautiful golden eyes. The blood splattered on his face felt like nothing as soon as he saw her. Luckily, the blood smeared on his face masked the completely flustered expression of his. It was love in first sight.

"Are you alright?" her voice didn't show much emotion but worry could be felt by her speech. She did tell him her name. Now, all he could think of was Aiz Wallenstein.

Bell couldn't respond. The only thing he could feel right now was retreat due to the hard thumping he felt from his heart. Due to this, he has actually forgot about Will, who was still there!

This course of action saddens the woman. She blankly stares at the now empty space and eventually leaves the area.

* * *

Hmm? Now you wonder what is happening to the goddess, Hestia? She is currently in the guild building sitting on a sofa, with Eina faced in front of her across a table. The two were currently discussing about the new member of the Hestia Familia, Will Haliers. Hestia has actually requested Eina to check the storage room for any data about him. This request was given right after Will was accepted into the familia. Right after Bell started to give a tour, Hestia quickly made a stop to the Guild building to issue this request. Now, the long wait has finally finished.

It isn't the case where Hestia didn't trust him but her gut just keeps telling her that there was something not right about Will.

"Did you find anything about him yet?" the small goddess gives a nervous question to the half-elf, "I know I accepted him into my familia but I just can't shake this weird feeling that something isn't right..."

Eina gave a short sigh before shaking her head in disappointment, "There really isn't any data on him, Lady Hestia," she speaks a bit softly so that no one else could eavesdrop on their conversation, "the database does not have a single record of anyone with that name... that or I haven't searched deep enough."

"I see," Hestia was of course disappointed as she whispered, "but please try again... this isn't for my sake, this for Bell-kun's sake!"

"I know, this is for his sake," Eina nods and gives a small smile to the goddess, "for that, I will restart my search and notify you if I find anything of use in this matter."

Hestia nods once more before standing from her seat and taking her leave. Just before Eina and Hestia left each other, an all too familiar voice echoed from the outside of the guild building. Hestia could already guess who that voice belonged to.

"Please pretend I was never here," Hestia makes a strange request to the confused half-elf, "if Bell-kun knows what I'm trying to do, he might be disappointed in me! Please do me this favor..."

Just a nod Eina was all that was needed for Hestia to make a break for it and make a stealthy escape.

Eina then takes a look outside the guild building and felt great surprise as soon as she saw Bell running towards her... with blood all over him! She couldn't stop the urge to scream in surprise when she saw such an image.

"Eina-san!" Bell calls out as he continued sprinting towards his advisor while waving his arm with newfound vigor, "Please tell me what you know about Aiz Wallenstein!"

Yes, she was relieved to see the boy but something put her in unease.

Where is that other boy Bell-kun was with? She thinks to herself with worry for the new adventurer.

* * *

In Will's situation, he was currently navigating through the 5th floor to backtrack and somehow get himself out of the dungeon. That last blow from the minotaur has possibly broke his left leg due to that collision with the wall. He keeps telling himself that it is just some kind of sprain though. The affected leg really did look damaged but probably not too far, at the very least. He almost fell down numerous times but he managed to use his spear to keep him up.

"Argh... I hope Bell made it out alright..." Will struggles to keep himself standing as he uses his spear to provide some support for his pained body. "that attack put a number on me but everything will be for naught if Bell didn't make it..."

Several minutes have passed ever since that minotaur attack but Will has only recently awakened from that event.

It takes another several minutes to limp out of the floor but after a painful walk, Will has finally made it out of the dungeon. He makes some grumbles to himself but that all stops as soon as he senses someone stare at him. It was only for a brief second but he could feel someone's eyes look at him.

He decided to ignore this so that he could head to the guild meeting and meet Bell as soon as he could. He puts on the hood of his cloak and crosses his arms before he starts to try walking again. His spear was once again concealed in his cloak.

Bell should be in the guild building by now so I should probably hurry but only... he reminds himself through his thoughts, if he's alive.

That thought wasn't in his mind for long since he noticed the very person in his mind sprinting towards him. He felt a surge of relief upon seeing him but some other part of him felt a bit of surprise upon seeing him alive.

Bell didn't seem to notice him though. It seems like the cloak Will was wearing prevented Bell from instantly recognizing him. Will had no desire to see his comrade go back in the dungeon so Will calls out Bell's name.

As soon as Will calls out to Bell, Bell quickly spots him and rushes to his side. You could imagine how elated he was to see his friend alright.

"Will-san," Bell starts panting from that long sprint he has just experienced. He then speaks up, "I'm glad to see that you escaped! I was just so-"

"There there," Will halts him from saying any words, "now please tell me how you actually beat that minotaur. I was expecting you to run out of the dungeon and save your own skin! Never would have thought that I'd be alive after that..."

"We can talk about that later," Bell assures him and starts to remind him, "Kami-sama should be waiting for us. We should hurry back to keep her company!"

Will quickly agreed and with that, they were off.

They both arrived in the home of the Hestia familia and saw a pumped-up Hestia. She revealed that she had received a reward from work for attracting more customers and showed to them a basket of fried potatoes. Not a totally fancy dinner, but Bell and Will happily join up with her and start munching. As they did this, Bell tells the others about his experience against the minotaur and how he was saved by Aiz Wallenstein. For some reason, this seems to cause Hestia to give a small pout.

After having the 'fried potato party' with each other, it was finally time for the updating of the status of both Bell and Will.

It first started with Bell. When Will joined the familia, Hestia gave a ground rule. It is for the one waiting for his turn, that he should head outside so that he wouldn't hear a thing from the update. Will gave no objections to it, so he quickly exited the church and leans on the now closed door.

The wait was not very long since only a few minutes passed before Bell knocked on the door, prompting Will to open it.

"Any new skills?" Will asks straight out.

"Well, there was this blurry part on the paper but Kami-sama says that she only made a mistake. Other than that, my agility did go up some numbers." Bell sounded only a bit proud.

"That was obvious, you've been running around that dungeon the whole time against that minotaur until that Aiz girl saved your skin," Will gives a small smirk as he says that.

This causes a casual argument but it was soon ended by Hestia, who was calling for Will.

"Hold that thought Bell, I'll be right back," Will heads in and closes the door behind him.

The update process for both of them were seperate for a reason. Bell had a tattoo on his back and Will had something else. Remember the part about his lost eye? Well, Hestia had to remove the eyepatch of his to commence his update. At first, Hestia felt terrified to actually remove the eyepatch but Will insists that it was fine. Fortunately enough, there was an eye behind the eyepatch but this one seemed odd. It was different from his gray eye and had the crimson red color. Strangely enough, the tattoo used for updating appeared across the left part of his face as soon as the eyepatch removed.

He was yet to tell the story about that eye but it was most definitely not his. With that out and done, Hestia placed the special paper on the left part of his head and focused her energy upon it. After a several seconds, Hestia pulls the paper off Will's face and reads the update.

"A-A skill?" Hestia's voice was soft but audible enough for Will to hear.

Will is taken aback and stares at her in disbelief, "R-Really?! What is it then?"

 **A/N: Poof, cliffhanger! The next chapter will reveal the new ability and will even have a hidden reference. See if you can find it! Had a slightly hard time doing this but I really enjoyed writing it. Thank you readers for some new follows and I hope you'll continue to read this!**


	3. Mystery Unsolved

Hestia appeared very puzzled after seeing the new stats of Will. His stat in agility remained almost unchanged but his stats in constitution and strength have increased quite a bit. His magic, for some reason, has increased by a few points.

"Well? What is the new skill you saw on the paper?" Will wears his eyepatch once again to cover his left eye. As soon as he did, the tattoo that mysteriously appeared on his face suddenly disappeared.

"I think you can see for yourself," Hestia mutters, still in surprise, as she gives the paper of updated stats to Will, "your magic stat may have some points in it but I cannot say for sure that you will get any."

Will scanned the paper and eventually lays his eyes on the skill section and states in confusion, "Gillionaire? What does this skill even do?"

"I'm just as confused as you are," Hestia admits with a perplexed expression, "who knew you were the type of person to actually have a skill like that? That skill itself is more of a passive skill rather than a combat skill. It doubles the value of any drop a monster happens to leave after it is defeated. It actually sounds a bit fortunate for the familia."

Despite this good news, Hestia really did feel suspicion for the man. First, no records could be found in the Guild about him and secondly, a somewhat rare ability right out of the blue. Even that eye he's been hiding has some deep secrets!

Yes, she still trusted him since he had always been with Bell ever since he joined but this it too much to be just a coincidence. Every time he was with Bell, he always gave this mysterious grin as soon as he left. This action further shrouded him in mystery. He obviously knew Bell but how could he?

"Better than nothing but," Will eyes the goddess as he stands from his seat, "should I tell Bell about this?"

Hestia seemed to give a face of uneasiness "You could tell him if you want."

"I see... I'll tell him about it tomorrow... For now, we should be getting some sleep!"

Will quickly leans on the corner of the room and eventually slides down. This area has been his spot for sleeping ever since he joined. Hestia would be sleeping on the bed while Bell would sleep on the couch. He didn't want to disturb the two of them and so, he quickly made this corner his home for a night's sleep. He was already used to this anyway. In his travels, he was usually thrown out and ridiculed. He was already fortunate enough to even have a decent bed at times but not every time.

Hestia calls out to the waiting Bell and they all get to their places for sleep. As soon as Hestia and Bell went to their places, Will started to 'pretend' sleeping. It took a great amount of time but after an hour of keeping himself awake, Will carefully left his area and slowly opened the door to head out.

Just before he closes the doors, he notices that Hestia was on Bell!

She must have sleepwalked, he snickered from the thought, I have to leave quick though.

He slowly closes the door while muttering "This time... I will protect you, Bell... I will not let the same thing I have failed to prevent to happen again." he then covers his face with his hood and runs off.

* * *

The next morning, Bell was already out running across the city. He experienced a very eye-widening situation right when he woke up. Hestia was actually sleeping on him back there so he really had to act quick before something else would happen. He never expected her to actually sleep on him like that so he decided to think that she was just sleepwalking before that happened.

He had also noticed that Will was nowhere to be found in their home. He did recall a weird smell brewing while he was asleep but he thought of it as a dream. Was that smell the doing of Will?

His plan for the day was to train in the dungeon early from now on, in an attempt to try and catch up to the girl who saved his life, Aiz Wallenstein. As he was heading there, he felt a presence watching him but he decided to ignore it for the time being.

He got called by a woman not so long after though. Who could that be?

* * *

"That was close... he almost spotted me," the ragged breath of Will huffed in exhaustion as he held a fairly large vial in his hands, "Thanks to the Gillionaire ability, I was able to gather the resources I needed quicker but I never expected myself to be this tired from late-night grinding..."

Will was currently shadowing the boy wile hiding in the numerous alleys and crowds around the city. He had something he wanted to change but his intentions were still not clear even to himself. His new ability has successfully given him a great amount of Valis as soon as he converted the stones to this currency. The new vial in his hand is actually another potion he brewed up in a cauldron, which is actually hidden somewhere near their home.

His interest in the arcane arts and potions were quite remarkable and so was his experience in brewing these potions.

"I know I promised myself to help Bell but why am I even shadowing him like this?" Will was even confused with himself from this, "I am also intrigued by what happened last night to him... Who knew Hestia-sama had some kind of interest in him? Best keep that a secret though... I am only here to protect Bell and that's all... but how can I make him drink this potion?"

The potion itself had a pinkish color with some bubbles forming all around the liquid. It was contained in a slightly bigger vial and this was made by Will just last night after heading to the dungeon to gather ingredients and try to grind his stats.

For the time being, he followed Bell up until the dungeon before actually revealing himself to the worried boy.

"There you are Will-san!" Bell runs up to him and gives a sigh of relief, "Where have you been? I haven't seen you in our home when I woke up."

Will felt quite uneasy. He couldn't just tell him the whole truth right? Will has been doing this same routine ever since joining but this was the first time he actually didn't make it home in time. Thanks to drinking one of his brewed potion, the eyebags that should be appearing by now have disappeared every time he drank the potion. In truth, Wll hasn't really been sleeping and has only been able to stay awake thanks to the very same potion he keeps drinking, the so called "Will Special".

Despite this, he still had to at least sleep a bit so every other day, he would sleep for 4 hours or so then go do his works. If something of importance happens in this time, he would usually drink 5 more vials but this can prove very unhealthy even for him.

"There's nothing to worry about Bell... now tell me," Will gives a playful nudge on the smaller one's shoulder before saying, "where did you get that lunchbox? Could it be that you've been dating someone behind the back of Hestia-sama? How interesting..."

"I-It's not what you think, Will-san!" Bell was in a total panicking mode as soon as the assumption was made, "There was this girl and-"

Bell was explaining everything to him but Will didn't seem to be fully listening to him. Will's eyes were focused on something else as Bell was explaining. He caught a glimpse of a short and petite gil with a giant backpack slung to her back. This small girl was following another group but Will felt a surge of nostalgia which prompted him to involuntarily mutter a name.

"A-Amy..."

"Eh? Whose name is that?" the sudden name coming from Will has interrupted the futile explanation of Bell.

"I-It's nothing Bell," Will stutters a bit before turning his back and redirecting his attention to the dungeon, "let us be on your way..."

Bell knew that Will didn't want to talk about it so

Due to this, Will felt a bit down which resulted to a short sigh. The two later make it to the dungeon for their daily training.

* * *

"So this girl who gave that lunchbox wanted to see you at that pub? Sounds quite good to me! I need a bit of a drink sometimes, you know," Will sounded excited to go to this pub Bell was talking about. "you sure grow fast though. You might even be the one protecting me from now on! Not like I would let that happen though.

It was currently evening right now and the two of them were heading towards a pub Bell was invited in. Not so long ago, they had their latest update in stats and the results shocked even Hestia. Will's stats were decently increased but Bell was just astronomically quick! For some reason, this caused a bit of anger (or jealousy) from Hestia. She told them to go to some party since she suggested that she will be going to a party with some co-workers... and here they are now.

"It was surprising that we got this much Valis but try not to spend it too much, Will-san,"

"Yes, yes... I know."

"I wonder why Kami-sama looked a bit steamed when she left though..."

"Haha... you will understand when you grow older. I could give a wild guess but I'm not telling!" Will starts to snicker more.

"You're always treating me like a kid, Will-san," Bell starts to give a stare at Will.

"I'd prefer for you to say that I'm treating you like a little brother. You're just roughly 4 years younger than me so you really can't expect me to not treat you like one, right?"

This chat continued to go on casually until they have finally arrived outside the pub. The pub was not too grand but it was practically a full house inside, judging by the audible noise coming from inside.

"Benevolent Mistress?"

"Oho... nice find, Bell."

Just when they were about to emerge in another conversation, a girl with a maid-like dress appears from insidenthe establishment and greets them with politeness. She seemed fairly amused as soon as she noticed that the same boy she met has actually came and even brought along a friend! That spells great business for the pub!

"Ah... You're that adventurer from before!" the woman gleefully smiles at Bell, "I don't recall that I introduced myself. I am Syr Flover! Is is nice to meet you-"

"Bell," Bell finishes for the woman, "my name is Bell Cranel and my companion here with me is Will Haliers."

"Nice to meet you," Will smiles back but had othe thoughts coursing in his mind.

This woman looks quite nice... not bad Bell. Maybe I don't need to use 'that' on you yet, Will thought to himself as they were both led in the pub.

They eventually find their seats on the counter and order not-so-expensive meals, only to be thwarted when Mama Mia 'gave' the two the special for the day even if they did not order it.

After some seconds, the Loki familia suddenly enter the pub with vigor, well maybe except for a certain quiet one.

Bell managed to catch just a glimpse of Aiz but that was enough to make him feel all warm inside. He was caught many times by Will for staring at her but Bell kept turning back to his food whenever he did.

This action prompts Will to get a glimpse of her as well but he returns his attention to Bell after some seconds.

"I'm rooting fo you... Bell." Will quietly mutters to the boy by his side and pats the back of the boy.

"W-Will-san!" Bell tried to deny it but the more he did, the more obvious it became. More thoughts came rushing to the mind of Will after that though.

Aiz Wallenstein... I might need to use 'that' on Bell after all. Actually, maybe not, Will starts to stress in his thoughts.

Everything was going smoothly and nothing much was happening until one of them started to badmouth a certain 'tomato boy' for getting blood all over his own face. The one being talked about in this conversation was no other than Bell himself! At first, Will was just continuing his own busines but he soon noticed the grimacing expression of Bell. Syr saw this as well and tried to ask him what was wrong.

The badmouthing continued and this only caused even more depression for Bell. It was clearly obvious that the cause of this was those words.

Suddenly, the weight of these words finally broke into Bell and he ran off! This catches the attention of Will and a certain blonde woman. Aiz suddenly exits to watch the running boy but Will explodes in anger from his seat and glares at the currently tied up culprit of the badmouthing. He knew getting into a rumble was not allowed in here so he had to place his anger on something else.

"That guy has guts for doing a dine-and-dash in Mama Mia's house!" Loki had a grin on her face as she continued drinking.

That's when it hit him. He had to pay the bill!

"I-I am deeply sorry for the action of my little- no... my companion," Will places the payment on the counter and bows once, "I will now be on my-"

"Hmm... You don't seem like a new face," Mama Mia eyes Will for a while before eventually turning away, "must be a coincidence though so go leave when you're done."

"Thank you for your understanding..." Will quickly leaves the pub in search for his comrade.

Syr was still left on a daze. Soon after that, she curiously asked, "Do you know him, Mama?"

Her curious face was enough to make Mama Mia respond but the words of Mama didn't sound like she was convinced of herself, "Probably just my imagination. I met a lot of adventurers back in the day!" Syr quickly understood these words from Mama and went back to work for other patrons.

Syr said his name was Will Haliers if I'm not mistaken... I thought he was the one who- never mind... Just a coincidence, Mama thought to herself.

* * *

Hestia was currently somewhere to sulk about her findings. Bell had this crush on Aiz and that truth only made it feel worse for the small goddess.

"How could Bell do this..." Hestia has been sulking in this area for a while now. She is sitting on the ground and throwing small pebbles to the pond in front of her. "he already has me and yet he has feelings for tha Aiz Wallenwhatsit..."

Hestia has really been feeling down lately. She lied to Bell about having no new skills but his new skill was actually something called Single Mind Pursuit (or Realis Phase). The skill actually relies on his emotions and will make him grow faster as long as his emotions do not change in the process. She knew he had some kind of interest in the famous Sword Princess, which further saddened the small goddess.

She wanted to stay alone near this pond for a while but a familiar voice started calling out with her name. Who could this be in a late time? The person in question was still sprinting towards the goddess with a face full of shock.

Wait... how did she even know I'm here? Hestia had this thought in her mind as she watched the figure getting closer to her little by little.

"Hestia-sama!" this voice belonged to the half-elf Eina, "I found data concerning about your request! After digging through the old recoreds, I finally found the profile of Will Haliers!"

Those few words were all that were needed to instantly catch the attention of Hestia. As said before, she did trust the new member of her familia but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with him. He had a mysterious eye and even knew Bell before meeting him! What else could make him even more suspicious or mysterious? It took a few more seconds before Eina managed to reach Hestia and gasp for air thanks to her sprint.

"So... what did you find?" Hestia waited for a bit before deciding to ask the tired woman, "If it was this hard to find something... there must be something very important about him, right? Or is it-"

"No... it's none of that..."

"Huh? Why was it hidden so much then?"

"I-It's because the records said he was-"

* * *

Bell and Will were currently in the dungeon after that incident in the Benevolent Mistress. Will managed to correctly guess where Bell ran off to and now here they are.

At first, Bell was too hurt from those words to even listen to the words of Will but after knocking some sense to him with a pat on the head, Bell managed to cool off. Will didn't like the sight of seeing Bell being gobbled by a giant frog though, even if Bell did escape from being turned into a meal.

All Will hoped for is that Bell didn't bump into what he was trying to make him avoid. He already had that mysterious vial in his hands in case he ever does find out the truth about his caution. As usual, Will impaled numerous monsters with his spear and Bell was there to finish them off with his agility. Everything was going well until they were chasing a running monster. Bell wanted to pursue the monster but Will was against the idea.

I can't let him follow that monster through that corridor... he might find out... Will bit his lip as he thoughts were rushing faster than ever before.

"I don't think we should give chase. It might be a trap to lead us to an ambush! I think this is enough for the night, Bell... Hestia-sama could be-"

"What if we are ambushed because it called more of its kind? We can't just leave it as is."

"You're probably still mad about what happened back in the bar, Bell! Let us calm down and be on our way." Will grabs the wrist of Bell and stares at him with slight conviction.

"B-But!"

"This is final... please just-" Suddenly, Bell manages to struggle off the grip of Will and back away. This causes Will to click his tongue in shock before trying to signal him to stop.

"Sorry Will-san, but I need to do this if I want to catch up to her!" Bell runs off with such speed that Will actually punches a nearby rock out of rage!

Shoot... if he finds about that dead end... he can actually! Will's thoughts were cut as soon as a loud crashing sound could be heard from the end of the corridor.

Not good... not good at all, Will has finally had his mind in panic.

Will quickly sprints through the corridor and notices rocks blasted all over the place. It was like that dead end actually had more to it. It seems to have been blocked by numerous piled rocks which camouflaged with the walls overtime. This does not seem like a mere coincidence no matter which side you look at.

After some seconds of continuous sprinting, Will has finally found Bell. Bell didn't seem alright though. You could already notice the obvious trembling in fear being done by Bell. It was like he saw a ghost.

Maybe I really have to use 'that' on him, Will reached for the vial hidden in his pocket and hid it behind himself so that Bell couldn't notice it.

"Anything wrong, Bell?" Will sounded a bit indifferent as he went closer to the trembling boy.

"W-Will-san... I actually killed the monster but my speed made me crash into to the wall," Bell was still shaking, with his back turned to Will, "the impact broke the wall and I ended up in this hidden room! A room with... A room with... 4-"

"4 skeletons right?"

The sudden response of Will shocked the boy even further. How did he know that this room had corpses in its area? Bell quickly turns and notices the disappointed face of Will.

"H-How did you know?"

"Tsk tsk... if only you didn't see this, Bell," Will suddenly lunges forward and grabs Bell by the neck, rendering Bell immobile and gasping for air, "but now you know... I won't kill you but... I cant have you remembering right?"

In a second, Will quickly pops the cork out of the vial being held by his other hand and forces the contents down the throat of Bell. Bell felt as lightheaded as a balloon as soon as the drink was forced into him. This causes him to faint from the dizzying effect it gave.

Will then sighs before carrying Bell with his arms and carrying him on his back. He then starts to pile the rocks back to hide the existence of the room.

"This is nothing personal Bell but I really don't want you too disrespect those bodies..." Will mutteres to himself as he continued to pile the rocks, "after all... those dead people were once very precious to me... That potion I made is a special potion that will let you forget about what happened so no worries..."

Damn it... I cannot let this secret of mine be found out ever again, Will reflects to himself in his thoughts, I cannot let what I failed to stop to happen again!

As soon as he was done with piling the rocks, he carries Bell towards the exit of the dungeon.

* * *

"The records of Will Haliers say that he is actually... dead!" Eina repeats for the third time to the goddess, who just couldn't believe it!

"Y-You've got to be kidding right?!"

Eina shakes her head to say that she was serious.

"T-Then that means..." it finally hit Hestia, "Bell-kun's in trouble!"

 **A/N: That took a while to update! The next chapter will be focusing on a non-canon event which means, that I will be finally away from the canon for this next chapter. Anyone see that reference from a certain famous franchise? Any advice or comments are appreciated so I hope you enjoyed my chapter!**


	4. Realization

Hestia just could not believe the words she has heard. Anybody would be shocked to hear this truth. With no second wasted, Hestia quickly left Eina and made her way back to her home. If what Eina said was true, there is no moment to waste! She definitely did not want Bell to be anywhere near a suggested living corpse. The records of the guild noted that an adventurer with the name Will Haliers had died in the Dungeon 10 years ago. From the story Will told Hestia the day he joined the familia, Will has first been in the dungeon 10 years ago as well. This story was never told to Bell though. The story also noted that 10 years ago was also the day he lost his eye from a certain monster he did not really dare to remember. For some reason, Hestia knew there was more to the story than just that though.

Many thoughts crossed the mind of Hestia as she ran across the streets to reach her destination. She did not want to believe that this was true but something really felt off from Will in the first place. He already knew Bell before meeting him, he immediately wanted to join her familia, and he even gained points in magic and even a skill to boot. She also wondered how he earned points in magic in the first place though. Was his magic just currently sealed and waiting to be awakened?

Bell-kun... you better be alright! Hestia gained even more doubts in her mind as she thought about this.

After a few minutes of her continuous sprint, Hestia has finally arrived at the outside of her home. She was supposedly about to open the door but she had to endure the nervousness she felt as she placed her hand on the door. She was a goddess but why did she feel this uneasy and unwelcoming feeling as soon as she opened the door? She did not notice this but she was starting to tremble in uneasiness as she took a few steps down the few stairs to scan the room. Just a few glances was all it took to spot Will just finishing a book he read. Hestia did not spot Bell on the couch but she noticed that an unconscious Bell was found on the chair. Upon glancing at Will once more, Hestia noticed a seemingly insincere smile coming from the man.

"Is there anything troubling you, Hestia-sama?" his voice was as calm and calculating as ever, "Bell and I have just arrived from the Dungeon and as you can see, he's down for the count. We encountered something which gave us a surprise and that has resulted to Bell being hit on the head by the stone wall. Luckily, he didn't gain any head injuries but I did treat him with some bandages as soon as I could."

Hestia was not entirely convinced. In fact, she was not convinced by his excuse a single bit! She did notice bandages wrapped around his forehead but she could guess that his head was not hit in any way. That was until she took a closer look and noticed a not-so-noticeable bump on his head. She thought of two possible reasons for this. It was either he was telling the truth, or he bumped the head of Will hard enough to knock him out. She decided to go with her first guess though. Why, you ask? She did not think Will had a reason to actually hurt Bell.

"There's nothing troubling me but," Hestia decides to be direct, "tell me what really happened to Bell-kun..."

* * *

These words coming from his goddess shocked him. Could it be that she knew of his secret as well? But how? In the outside, Will gave a curious glance at the goddess and told her the same excuse he used moments ago but on the contrary, he could feel deep disbelief in the inside. He was indeed adept in acting like he never did anything though. He simply rejects the accusation of his goddess and takes a small glance at the unconscious Bell before standing from his seat and giving another fake smile to his goddess. That action didn't seem to calm the goddess though.

Will then makes his way to a nearby counter and calmly asks the goddess, "Would you like some tea, Hestia-sama? I gathered some herbs in a nearby meadow and I was hoping that you would want some. I may not look like it but I must say that I am very good in brewing some hot delicious tea. I had to live by myself and travel all alone after all!" Will seemed to take pride in this as he faced the counter and started to brew some tea.

"Oh? Are you?" Hestia sounded a bit eager but the doubts in her mind continued to keep her from feeling safe around him.

"Indeed I am!" Will kept this conversation going while carefully masking what he was actually doing, "I am actually very proud of myself in my skills in cooking and tailoring! Being lonesome for years can really make a man independent, you know!" Will started snickering about acknowledging himself and faced to the direction of the teapot once again. He knew that Hestia was still suspecting him so he knew what he had to do, "Would you want some honey in your tea? The honey will make the taste stronger and less bitter. The herbs I harvested are quite the bitter ones!"

Hestia gave a suspecting glance at the man but she responded, "Sure, I don't really like tasting anything too bitter anyway..." Little did Hestia know that Will was actually applying the very same potion he used on Bell instead of honey!

After a short while of pouring the rest of the potion, which was hidden in one of his pockets, Will pours a small amount of honey into the mix to prevent the goddess from tasting the third-party ingredient he had just mixed in the tea.

This potion is not really dangerous but this allows a recent memory that has shocked the drinker to forget about it with ease. In theory, even a goddess like her could easily forget a shocking memory just by drinking this... I keep using it on myself but every time I do, I would just keep remembering 'that'. It does not affect me because my bad memories are from 10 years ago so it should be fine if I drink this tea with Hestia-sama! Will thinks to himself as he mixes the tea with a small spoon before pouring a cup for Hestia and himself.

He later carries a tray with two teacups on it and hands one to Hestia.

Before Hestia takes a sip from the tea, she stares at Will for a bit and asks, "What was that book you were reading when I arrived?"

Will blinks twice before answering. "It's nothing, just an old journal which I keep writing on in my travels. It's been a while since I added a new entry so I started rereading it for some... walk down memory lane? I was just about to start reading until you went in though. Anyway, enough of me. Let us enjoy the tea!" he gulps down his share of the tea with no hesitation at at all. He then stares at Hestia, waiting for her to take a sip.

Like you think, Will was obviously lying about this. That so called journal he has is actually something more complex. It is yet to be revealed to his eyes so let us leave it all at that for now.

Moments later, Hestia took a sip and finished the whole cup, much to Will's surprise. She seemed unaffected in the eyes of Will and this only made him feel even more surprised by this. Hestia gave a slightly pleased expression while holding the teacup out and requesting, "You're right! Let me have another cup!" Will obliged reluctantly before pouring another serving of tea in the cup of Hestia. The direction of the result was the complete opposite of what Will would have thought. She was supposed to be knocked out by the very first dose she tasted but how did this happen? Will appeared very shocked to see this but another part of him felt quite elated to know that someone actually liked the tea he made. Why is she resistant though?

Maybe my potion isn't potent enough? No... that is impossible since I used the exact ingredients. I am pretty sure my recipe book told me that this potion is very much able to erase anybody's memories! Will started doubting his own thoughts, I am very much trained in these arcane arts so maybe she... **DOESN'T** find that memory shocking?!

"Well... I'll be heading to sleep then," Will states an excuse to get him out of this situation, "Bell and I will be training in the dungeon again tomorrow so... have a good night, Hestia-sama!"

"Now that you mention it, it does seem to be late," Hestia finally became conscious of the time after finishing her last serving of tea with a swiftly sip, "You go on ahead and sleep and I'll take care of Bell-kun."

Will quickly obliges to take away any more suspicion and finds his place in the corner as usual. He knew that Hestia was suspecting him of something but he decided to play it safe and stay indifferent. Due to his long absence from a good night's sleep, he easily finds himself sleeping without any problems. He had a thought in his head before he slept. This thought was that Hestia would not know the truth behind him so that they can all live a normal life with no doubts...

* * *

As soon as Hestia noticed that her second member of her familia was asleep, she quickly made her way to the injured Bell. She scans him for any injuries but all she did notice is a small bump on his head. She had to admit that Will really was great in first-aid but she knew that this bump could not be caused by the monsters on the lower floors. She would have questioned Will more but doing that could give off the feeling of distrust and she didn't want any of that. As she glances at the sleeping face of Bell, she gives a small sigh before stroking the hair of Bell gently as if she was praising him.

"You better stay safe, Bell-kun," Hestia mutters in a genuinely worried voice as she continued to gently stroke him as if he was a sleeping pet, "I know you wouldn't just give up on being a friend of Will so I think it's for the best that you don't know a think about the discoveries I found about Will for now. Just promise me that you'll always come home here like you promised since the day we met. As long as he doesn't hurt you, I'll accept him with open arms, alright?"

Hestia soon stops muttering there words to the sleeping Bell and ceases from stroking his hair. She really did like him in more ways than one but as soon as Aiz became the apple of his eye, she just couldn't bear it. Especially the fact where only thinking about Aiz makes his stats increase even further is what makes Hestia feel all down in the dumps recently. Despite all this, Hestia's feelings for the boy remains unchanging. She yawns a bit before staring at the sleeping face of Bell once more. She really did think he was very cute, after all!

For a few seconds, she prepares the sheets on her bed for a nice sleep and remembers that she had work tomorrow so she had to make this quick. She actually wanted to take more sips from the tea Will prepared but she resisted urge so that she wouldn't end up drinking up all that was left. She was also very curious of that journal Will had but peeping into a person's privacy like that is just horrible! He is even part of her familia so that could add up to the many reasons that she should not even look at the contents. She takes that out of her mind and thinks of one thing to do before taking her sleep on the bed.

She rushes to the side of Bell and carries him from the chair and transfers him into the couch. He wasn't really that heavy so it was a piece of cake for this small goddess. After placing him on the couch and covering a blanket over him, she smiles at his sleeping face and delivers a very swift peck on his forehead before jumping on her bed quickly with a grin on her face.

"Do your best, Bell-kun!" She mutters with content as she enters the world of dreams.

 **A/N: Hello everybody! Quite a fast update, huh? I finally got my new laptop so my updates may get quicker from now on if I am not busy! I haven't been doing these fanfictions for a while now so I am very thankful for the new readers! You're the best minna! Thanks for the reviews, faves, and follows and I hope that you will continue to support my story. Any advice will be appreciated! Requests? May do it soon if I accept them. For now, I will make a small timeskip starting next chapter! Hope you all look forward to it!**


	5. The New Team

About 10 days have passed ever since the revelation of the mysterious data about Will. This data Eina found isn't known to anybody except Hestia and Eina. Throughout this week, Hestia has grown more wary of Will and has noticed something changing. His magic stat seems to be increasing with a few points day by day. By far, Will acted almost the same way he did ever since his official membership towards the Hestia Familia. Ever since that day, Will has even started making tea for both Bell and Hestia at times. For some reason, his protection over Bell has drastically increased this week. That's all there is to it in his changes towards his familia so far.

Also, there is one notable change in his equipment as soon as Bell acquired his own special weapon. Instead of just carrying a spear with his two hands, he now had a short sword which was sheathed and hung on the right side of his belt. Although, he would usually use the sword only if a monster went too close. The final mysterious change in equipment is that he had a second spear now. This new spear was actually hidden in his cloak before but now, he hangs it on his back just like his main spear. Mysteriously, this new spear is wrapped in a durable black cloth, possibly meaning that it is a last resort weapon. Aside from all this, nothing actually new happened with his present fighting style. This shroud of mystery around him is yet to vanish though.

In the meantime, Bell has acquired a brand new weapon from his goddess. It is a very special dagger which was forged by the great Hephaestus herself. This special dagger is called, _Hestia's Dagger_ , the only dagger that can grow with its wielder and cannot be used by anyone but him. Of course, this weapon wasn't for free. Along with the rest of the money Hestia owed Hephaestus, she had to pay for this special weapon. This was for Bell though so she had no complaints as she worked for Hephaestus. She has only recently taken this job so she was not even close to paying these unpaid debts.

Now here she is, in another part-time job as an assistant of her friend and now boss, Hephaestus. Of course, her usual clothing was replaced with the appropriate staff clothing of the workers here. Her job is usually to do what every assistant is to do; assist with the paperwork of Hephaestus, try to make a successful sale, and many other things! After Hestia sorted some papers which needed the approval of Hephaestus, Hestia placed this stack of papers on the desk. This action earned a thankful nod from Hephaestus as she starts signing them. Hephaestus did notice that her friend was staring at her but she decides to ignore it. This goes on for a few more seconds until Hephaestus lets off a short sigh. She knew what Hestia wanted.

For a moment, Hephaestus pauses from signing the papers and notices the pouting face of Hestia and suddenly speaks, "If you're trying to ask for another break, let me remind you that your next break is still hours from now..." her seriousness in work could be heard just from these words, "there are still many things for you to do so don't try to slack off, Hestia."

It was like Hephaestus read her mind. Yes, Hestia always looks forward to the word 'break' but the serious face Hephaestus is always giving her is preventing her from doing so. Without a complaint, Hestia stopped pouting and was just about to continue working until an unexpected question came from Hephaestus.

"I know this doesn't seem like the time to ask but," Hephaestus sounded quite curious for a change, causing Hestia to redirect her attention to Hephaestus, "who exactly is this new member of your familia? I only heard of him from you in the banquet but I have received a report from a member of my familia about something. He has reported to me that he has been seeing a shady guy pass by the Benevolent Mistress every night and I've been meaning to ask if he's the new member of you're familia by any chance. If it is not, then take this as a warning for you and your familia. He says that this shady person always makes his way towards the dungeon every night as well."

It can't be Bell-kun so could it be possibly Will? Will does seem to be more exhausted than Bell whenever they come back from the dungeon so, Hestia thinks about it for some time before continuing her train of thoughts, could it really be true that he's been training even at night?! That's no way of taking care of yourself! Now that I think of it... How does he seem to wake up from his sleep with no fail? Could he have been drinking an overdose of rejuvenation potions instead of having a night's sleep? I might need to... observe him tonight.

"Oi, Hestia..." the sudden snap of Hephaestus' fingers brought Hestia back from her deep thinking, "if what I said is making you think too much, just forget about it. Just let me apologize for bringing it up and accusing the new member of your familia for it."

"I'm not angry about that at all, Hephaestus!" the sudden carefree Hestia sounded rather determined, "In fact, you actually helped me think of my next course of action towards my new member!"

"Oh? What could that be?" she knew it would be something ridiculous but she decided to get the 'benefit' of knowing what Hestia had to say.

"It is time for Hestia herself to commence a very accurate..." Hestia vigorously points out her finger up and says with glee, "stakeout!"

"...What?" Hephaestus glanced at Hestia with a slightly embarrassed look, "It's none of my business to know what you're planning to do with your new member but let me remind you that your shift is still far from ending. In fact, it seems like two people are currently outside checking the equipment for sale as we speak ... Hestia, if you may, please assist them in their choices." Hephaestus sounded much like her usual business-like attitude as she starts signing the papers once again.

"Yes yes... I'll be right on it!" Hestia sounded rather unenthusiastic as she made her way to the door. As soon as she reaches the door, she wears a good smile while closing her eyes and enthusiastically turns the door knob to open the door and welcome the customers, "Welcome! Can I help you with any-"

As soon as she opened her eyes while greeting, she instantly knew who the two mystery customers were. One of them had white hair and red eyes while the latter had brown hair and green eyes, plus the noticeable elf ears. She definitely knew who they were! She wondered for a second who the other one was due to the absence of her glasses though. They were definitely Bell and Eina! Hestia could just feel herself getting a bit unsettled for some reason. Maybe it was because of how much they appeared to be dating in some way? Hestia was too deep to escape that thought now.

With that all known, Bell and Hestia then shout at each other in unison with surprise in their tones.

"B-Bell-kun?!"

"K-Kami-sama?!"

* * *

With Bell out of the picture, Will finds himself all by his own in the town. You would be expecting him to be grinding his stats in the dungeon by now but something was hindering him from doing so. This week has been putting a number on him lately especially in the times where he would go on late-night grinding. Due to this, he had to keep drinking his potions which can give various side-effects. He knew about the side-effect of giving himself overdoses of his own potions but he wanted to be strong enough to really protect Bell. It was just a week ago when he noticed that Bell's stats were already far ahead of his own stats in such a fast pace and Will didn't want this at all. Ever since realizing that, he now trains every night, in a futile attempt to catch up to Bell. What is this side-effect, you ask? Once he consumes more than his limit, his performance in battle could possibly drop and cause some unnecessary accidents. The effects have nothing to do with his appearance but in the inside, he's struggling to keep up.

Damn... Having over 10 of these potions in a week is supposed to be lethal in terms of performance right? Will reflects to himself as he blends in with the crowd around him, maybe a whole day away from the dungeon can help me recover from this mess in my mind. The hallucinations I've seen were nothing dangerous but that one with Amy in it was really unsettling! My limit is just one last vial left so maybe today is my last day for my late-night grinding... I won't be able to do night grinding for a whole week after this. I might probably sleep like a log after tonight...

Will has been debating to himself whether he should stop this unnatural way of rejuvenation or risk it and keep going. It did end up with him deciding to take it easy for now so here he is exploring the town by himself. He had a short breakfast with a loaf of bread and so he's being all casual now. Thanks to his new passive skill, the financial problems of the familia have decreased even by a bit. The skill only doubles the value so it can be quite useful if you're conscious about money.

Bell told him that he'll be with Eina for the morning to visit the tower of Babel, which resulted to some teasing coming from Will. Just by hearing this, Will immediately sees it as a date and kept giving numerous praises and unnecessary advice to the latter. Despite this personality of his, the protection he keeps trying to give Bell is very much noticeable. An example would be in the first week he joined the familia. Will didn't even have second thoughts in being bait for the minotaur to allow Bell to run into safety but this was greatly disapproved by Bell. In went in the opposite where Bell lured the minotaur away from the injured Will. Also, at times, he would follow Bell whenever they have a rest day so that he could protect him whenever possible. One time he couldn't protect Bell was at the monster festival since he was training in the dungeon while the Silverback incident was happening so there was no way he could assist Bell at that one moment.

"It's been a while since I've been this casual! It but," Will stretches his arms in comfort as he lets off a deep sigh, "I really do wonder what Bell is planning to do with Eina. She's our dungeon adviser so I don't expect anything immodest with someone as young as Bell but... what if Eina would be the one to make the first move?! If that were true... I should stop muttering this to myself so loudly!" Fortunately, all the people around Will were busy enough with their own conversations for them to not hear the words from his slightly loud muttering.

After a long stroll around the town, he accidentally found himself by the entrance of the dungeon and tower of Babel. He wasn't supposed to even get himself there. Could it be that his instincts have developed so much that he couldn't stay away from continuous training? No, he promised himself that today would be a free day and that he would take a break from the dungeon until Bell came back. That was until he got a glimpse of the very same sight he saw 10 days ago. The one person in his sights right now seems to be carrying a gigantic backpack which seems to be just about her height... or even bigger than that. It was a small girl just leaving the dungeon with a few other people. Seems like a party of some sort.

Will had other things in his mind though. "A-Amy... Is that you or is my mind getting all loopy again?" he shakes his head in an attempt to focus and take a look at the small girl again. He then mutters to himself, "S-She's not Amy. I'm sure of that but why do I keep thinking about Amy when looking at that small girl? Amy really was a little girl 10 years ago but why does that make me think of her?" As he had his mind in complete confusion, he did not notice that the small girl he was looking at has already left with the other people around her. That's when he remembered and mumbled, "Now that I think about it... Amy is a supporter so is she one as well? Those big backpacks always make me think of supporters... Amy had brown hair just like her but that was a complete coincidence! I-I should stop thinking about it."

Seconds after those deep thoughts, Will now sits near a fountain and breathes deeply. He was as pale as a ghost that moment! His traumatizing experience with the dungeon 10 years ago was probably coming back to him. He was once a brave soul who even announced that he'll be alright in the dungeon as long as he was in a safe crowd of people but he was deeply wrong. He was never in the party but he managed to get a small 'ride' to the dungeon. This was probably the worst decision in his life but the rest of it is a story for another time.

I should probably just head back home and take a rest, Will starts doubting even himself with these thoughts about his past, maybe a good sleep can make me stop thinking about her. Bell would understand why I cannot be active right now...

With that idea in mind, Will gets up from the fountain and makes his way back to the home of his familia. For the first time in a long time, he felt shivers down his spine and a very uneasy feeling as he walked back into town.

* * *

After spending the day with Eina and that encounter in the alley, Bell was just about out of energy. He met his goddess in a new part-time job and even caused a small misunderstanding that time. On the other hand, he was expecting to meet up with Will nearby the fountain but it seems like he's nowhere to be seen. Did something happen to him? Bell felt worried for his relaxed friend but he knew better than to take him for granted. Bell already knew that Will was a very reliable friend to watch your back so he's just probably somewhere playing around. They both agreed not to head to the dungeon for the day so that's one thing off his list of worries.

Before he left Eina, Eina recommended him to find a supporter of some sort. Bell didn't exactly know what a supporter does so this term was a complete new thing to him. Maybe he should find a supporter to hire tomorrow with help from Will. In just the few weeks Bell was with him, Bell knew that Will was incredibly protective of him and very wary of any other people who was a stranger to them. It was like an overprotective father not allowing his son to go to a late-night party.

Hopefully, Will-san would agree with this... Bell thinks to himself as he walks down the street to his home, he's been my only party member for a while now so he might be surprised. He's been acting strange these days though. He kept rushing to the front lines ahead of me instead of acting as an additional attacker in the past few days. He might be back home so I guess I could check if he's there.

As Bell walks down the street, he carefully carries the set of his new equipment and looks at the piece of armor for his arm, which was given by Eina. He develops a small cute smile as soon as he glances at the small green gauntlet. Eina gave this just for him so he wanted to take care of it along with the rest of his equipment. At first he didn't want to accept such a gift from her but as soon as Eina insisted, Bell happily accepted the gift from his adviser. He did have a bad feeling for a bit. Why, you ask? Will would probably endlessly tease him about this present. Whenever something like this would happen, Will would usually end up doing something like that to make Bell feel all warm about the present.

Hopefully, that wouldn't be the case today.

It took him some time to go to the HQ of his familia but Bell managed to arrive after several minutes of walking. He wanted to handle these equipment with care to make sure that they would be ready once he explored the dungeon with Will tomorrow.

Bell then opens the door while saying, "I'm back!"

"Welcome back..." the sudden response shocked Bell. This means that Will really did get back home by himself.

"What made you go here earlier, Will-san?" Bells asks as he steps down the stairs, in order to see Will.

"Nothing really," Will answered straight while mixing something on the counter, "would you want some tea, Bell? For today, I managed to get apple with honey so you ca expect something sweet instead of bitter like last time."

"Thanks Will-san," Bell accepted his offer and sat at a nearby chair and decided to tell his plans to Will, "I'm planning for us to add a supporter to the party so is that alright with you?"

Will gave a curious glance at Bell when he suggested getting a supporter but returns to his brewing of tea, "That won't be a problem, the more the merrier, right?" the answer of Will was more agreeing than he anticipated, "As long as I see that this new member of the party is in no way trying to hurt you, I will agree with open arms but in the off-chance that this new comrade does try to hurt you... kick that ungrateful traitor out of the party as soon as possible... I'm trying to protect you so I cannot allow anybody who looks shady to join our party."

"U-Umm..." Bell held the urge to make a casual comeback about how shady Will already was. Instead, he decides to ask some casual questions to his friend, "where did you learn how to brew tea? It feels as if you're a natural in brewing drinks!"

Will was caught off-guard by this sudden compliment, "Flattering me won't get you anywhere but thanks for saying that, Bell!" he takes off his cloak and gives an honest smile to his younger comrade. Seconds later, he carries the tray to the table and gladly tells Bell, "Tea is ready."

Bell could only watch as Will pours the hot steaming tea into the two cups. Steam could still be seen hovering above the two cups but Will reminded Bell that tea was always better when still warm. Bell obliged to the advice to Will and carefully blew at the steaming tea. As soon as he found it cool enough to not burn his tongue, Bell takes a small sip from the newly brewed and his smile perks up as soon as he does. The flavor was indeed sweet thanks to the honey and it was rather enjoyable to drink for Bell. Seeing this, Will pours another cup for his friend, much to the appreciation of Bell. This goes on for a fair amount of minutes with numerous casual conversations until the teapot emptied after all the refills.

It was already around early evening when they finished. Their goddess should already be home by now. Bell knew the reason why she wasn't there yet though. Aside from her original part-time job, she now has to work for Hephaestus to pay off her debts. Bell was sort of surprised to see his goddess working there though.

"It's getting late, I'll be going ahead to sleep..." Will quickly leaps to his corner and sleeps like a log, much to the embarrassment of Bell.

"I-I see, have a good sleep, Will-san," Bell decides to do the same and ends up sleeping on the couch like he always did. They had much to do in the dungeon tomorrow so Bell had to be in top shape before this.

The night passes quickly and morning arrives with a pleasant wake-up call with birds chirping.

Bell and Will were already headed to the dungeon this early morning after saying their farewells to the sleeping Hestia. Bell had to shake Will for him to wake up though. This was the very first time where Will actually needed someone to awaken him. For now, they made their way to the entrance of the dungeon. It didn't take long before they finally arrived and made their place nearby the fountain. They were supposedly checking their equipment before entering the dungeon but Bell just remembered that he wanted to try out having a supporter. After the final check, Bell was just about to remind Will of his plans but the sudden shout from a distance stopped him.

"Mister!" a young voice started calling out to Bell in the distance, "If you're both looking for a supporter, I could be of help!"

This face appeared very familia to Bell. Wasn't she the girl he saw being chased by that other adventurer in the alley yesterday? He wanted to point it out but he decided to go along with this for now. The two of them first listened to what the little supporter had to say and with that done, Bell's questions about supporters were finally answered. Everything went well in this conversation, aside from the fact where Bell touched the ears of the little supporter which earned a few snickers from Will.

"My name is Liliruca Arde," the supporter politely greets the two, "What are yours, Mister?"

"Bell Cranel," he then points at the guy beside him, "and he is my friend, Will Haliers."

For some reason, Will didn't seem to trust Lili. Bell saw this when Will seemed to have been putting a distance between themselves. Bell wanted everyone in the party to trust each other but Will obviously showed no signs of trust to this woman. In fact, Will didn't seem to like her a single bit! Bell had to ponder about the reason for this but to no avail.

"So... will you allow me in your party, Bell-sama?" Lili asked the boy, with her ears perked up.

"Well, I guess you-"

"Sorry, please excuse us." Will abruptly stops the words of Bell by dragging him away from the tiny supporter.

"What's the matter, Will-san?"

"My gut tells me that she's nowhere near trustworthy... Why would she even aim for us first among all the adventurers here? I have a bad feeling about her! Time for you to decide..." Will sounded very serious at this point, "will you trust her... or me?"

This sudden question surprises Bell. Why would Will be this serious about having a new party member? The hard grip of Will was on the shoulders of Bell so there was no way he could escape this question. Of course, Bell trusted Will more but he also wanted to have another person to trust. He wanted to trust Lili with being a party member but the stubbornness of Will seems to completely deny her. Bell couldn't decide.

An awkward silence developed between the two and this was not broken until Will lets out a disappointed sigh before giving a depressing forced smile, "Is this how you want it?" he lets go of his grip on Bell and turns his back, "Well I'll be leaving then..."

"W-What do you mean Wi-" In a flash, Will starts sprinting into the city, leaving Bell in the dust.

Why... Why did this happen? Bell tried to process the fact where Will left him completely alone as soon as he added a new member to the party, Will already told me that it'll be alright to have a new member. What... should I do? Maybe I should chase after him and try to-

"Bell-sama!" the voice of Lili takes Bell out of his deep thinking. "Shall we get going to the dungeon?"

* * *

 **A/N: Hello minna! Thanks for all the new views, reviews, faves, and follows! Starting today, my updates will vary in time so please be patient. Also, if you would want me show the story of Will's past, please be patient as well since I already have it all planned out! Next chapter will possibly be revolving around Will or Hestia mostly so I hope you look forward to it. See you in the next chapter!**


	6. A Meeting of Fate?

Will knew in himself that he had no hate for Lili but one thing made him not accept her at all. That one reason for trying to avoid this girl is that she resembles a certain person in his past, in many ways. The girl who always made him think about looks almost like her! This girl he keeps remembering is someone that goes by the name, Amy. Like Lili, Amy was a supporter and also a messy haired brunette. Amy was a very outgoing and unruly girl who kept getting Will in trouble before anything better happened. Despite this, Will never forgot about her.

Now back to reality, Will was all alone in the town. The fact where Bell hesitated in choosing between the choices did not make him furious though. In fact, it was the contrary! Instead of feeling rage for his small comrade, he acted very depressed. The crowds were not present at the moment so there was almost nobody there to notice the fuming Will. His attire was all ready for dungeon diving so it really did feel awkward to walk around town. This did not disturb him but the stares given by the bystanders in the sides were very unsettling.

Just why would he trust someone like her so quickly? It took me some time to gain his trust but that girl captured him like a fly on a net! Will fumes with that single thought in his mind, It's not that I can't trust his intuition, it's just that I really cannot bring myself to party with someone who looks terribly like Amy! What if I couldn't protect Lili like how I couldn't protect Amy before? Will it be just be relying on Bell to protect both of us if I fail? No... that is the most pathetic course of action I could hope to even carry out! I'm the one who needs to protect him... not the other way around!

The annoyance felt by Will was written all over his face. Luckily for him, there weren't so much people in the town since the morning was still very young. This gave him the chance to do what he needed to do. He just wanted to shout.

"If only I was stronger... I could have-" his statement was cut to a halt as soon as a very familiar word to him, echoed throughout the town. It was only for a short moment but he was sure he heard it correctly.

Once again, the word echoes in the ears of Will, "THIEF!" a very loud shout of rage came from behind Will, "SOMEONE HELP ME CATCH HER!"

The few people in the area were shocked to hear that unpleasant word but Will was not like that. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to focus where that shout came from. He didn't need to think too hard though. The answer was just about to appear in his sights. Banging sounds which sounded much like metal clashing metal came from one corner of the area. That was the moment where Will became wary.

All of a sudden, a young girl stormed through the town, with a fairly large man tailing her. They were heading right for the direction of Will at their pace. From where he was, Will could already see this chase going on. He noticed that the young girl had a loaf of bread cradled in her arms as she ran from the man. The young girl had a small hood to cover a portion of her face and very ragged clothing, which almost didn't fit the category of being 'clothing'. From Will's small observation of the running girl, she seemed to be a young girl not more than 10 years old. Because of this, Will had another memory invading his mind but he vigorously shook his head in an attempt to cease this memory from reappearing. He narrowed his eyes and went into a deeper focus as he watched the chase unfold. The two of them were heading straight towards him so he may be able to capture the small girl. At that moment, he has finally decided his move.

The girl on the run was indeed quick but not as quick as the sights of Will. The man behind the girl was starting to trail behind so Will was the only one left to catch her. The bystanders could only watch as this chase was nearing its end. Will prepared himself and continued to focus on the girl. After noticing that the girl was getting very close to his own position, Will easily scooped her up by grabbing the girl by her collar and carefully making sure that he hasn't pained her in any way. With this done, Will easily carried her like she was some lifeless doll.

After Will grabbed the little girl by the collar, he finally managed to examine her looks. The young girl had a young face and a bit of a chubby one. She had very dark brown hair and a pair of sandy brown eyes. Her height was almost appropriate to be a twelve year old but he paid that no mind. What really got him is that this little girl reminded him of Amy even more than Lili! Her ragged clothing started dropping down but it was quickly pulled up by the small girl. The little girl glared at Will with such annoyance as she struggled to get loose from his iron grip.

"Little girls don't steal loaves of bread!" these words suddenly slipped out of Will's mouth, "Who are you supposed to be? You are not Jean Valjean!" That was it! Something in his mind reminded him that a situation much like this had happened in his past 10 years ago. Will shook his head once again to keep that one memory from returning but it ended up futile as his train of thoughts began to revolve around his memories.

Didn't the exact same situation happen with Amy 10 years ago? In that time, she really did steal bread to survive in this place... It was just like 10 years ago... Will pondered on this fact as he continued to hold the little girl's collar.

The little girl did not plan in giving up though. She furiously tried to loosen up the grip of Will as she yelled, "Let go of me! I can't afford myself to be captured by someone! I still have another mouth to feed so let go of me!"

Another bullet of reminiscence pierced his mind as soon as she said that. He remembered that Amy did the exact same thing with this whole scene. Instead, the one who grabbed her by the collar like this was an adventurer he looked up to 10 years ago, whose name continued to stay in his mind. Just like what was happening in the present, that adventurer from 10 years ago did the same thing. Will wanted to copy what that one adventurer has done...

"Hey," the man chasing the small girl has finally caught up to the girl. He then approached Will and requested, "give me the girl and I'll be sure to give her a proper punishment! Heck, I'll even pay you for catching that little pest!" the man was definitely pissed at the small girl.

Let her go...

Will gave an indifferent stare at the man as he puts the girl down and blocked the path of the man. He then says with as much courtesy as he could, "Please forgive this little girl of whatever crime she did." he makes a very low bow, which shocked the man and little girl. He the continues on, "As an apology please take this..."

and apologize for her...

"1000 Valis..." Will throws the pouch of coins in the direction of the man, which the receiver barely catches. Will continues to talk as he stays in his bowing position, "that amount will be sufficient enough right? I have already paid for the bread itself with this money, right? Please take the rest as an apology for this girl. Let me handle the rest with her... alright?"

With no complaints, the man turns away and heads away from Will with a large grin plastered on his face. He clutched the bag of coins tightly as he starts muttering stuff about Will being the most idiotic man he met, although this was completely ignored by the bowing Will. After some time, the man leaves the area and the sound of relief coming from the bystanders could be heard.

With him gone, Will now turns to the young girl and and gives a sigh of relief. All that girl did was stare at him in disbelief. Well, who wouldn't be? Why would a complete stranger just suddenly save a random girl like her?

"Are you alright?" Will had to kneel on one knee to get a better look at the girl.

"I-I'm fine..." the girl says with a pouting face, "I could have outran him myself though. You didn't really have to save my skin like that."

"Alright... Now tell me your name, little girl."

This sudden question startled the girl, "N-No way! You can't just ask someone's name when you haven't introduced yourself first!"

Unfazed, Will stands up and proudly introduces himself, "I am Will Haliers, an adventurer from the Hestia familia... That's all there is to it so may I know who you are now?"

The girl hesitated but stated her name anyway, "Annie Suvota is my name and I am a contracted supporter for someone in the Loki familia!"

A little girl like her is working for the Loki familia? That's a new one... Will didn't even believe those words for a second, How is that even possible? She looks nothing like someone from that familia... unless she lied to me about everything until now! Why would she need to do a stunt like stealing bread from one of those stalls then? This needs questioning...

"Is that so? Then please enlighten me with the reason of you stealing bread like that."

"It was because I didn't want to meddle with the affairs of my client! She would never see me the same way if she ever knew about this!" she seemed rather furious with Will, "That very same man stole my whole bag while I was asleep! That big bag of mine had almost all my money in it! I'm not sure how or why he went through that effort of stealing my bag but I can't just stay quiet to this! I can't let this event be known to anyone from my familia! It'll break the pride of the Loki familia if anyone found out!"

These words were completely new to the ears of Will. He was actually in relief to know that the circumstances of Amy and Annie were completely different. The only reason for Amy stealing bread was to feed the mouths of the only family she had left. Will had only met her after arriving in the city of Orario so the rest of the story is a bit irrelevant right now.

"So was your excuse of having another mouth to feed a complete lie?"

"Of course not! I may be a thief that time but I am very much a lady who tells no lies."

"Oh? Little girls like you cannot call yourselves ladies just yet," Will playfully pokes the girl's forehead and makes a small smile, "you are still a little girl, Ann... Don't take it all to yourself."

"D-Don't just suddenly give me nicknames!"

As he was talking to the girl, memories of Amy continued to flood his mind but now, he allowed it to flow. These memories were not that numerous but for some reason, he felt content just by remembering them. His previous annoyance directed to Bell and Lili was soon assimilated like it was never there. He saw the desperation in the eyes of Annie so he quickly decided in a whim.

Annie soon stands up and turns away, "It's none of your business so you can just leave me alone and pretend you never-"

"I'll help," Will quickly rejects her suggestion, "but don't get me wrong. I just want to help you since I can never forgive the scum who steal from people of a lower class to them... no offense in your part."

"Why would you think I'm poor?" Annie tilts her head to the side with an innocent look, "I was only wearing this incompetent disguise to catch that thief off-guard! I was planning to retrieve my bag back as soon as I got him far enough from his stall!"

This response caused Will to feel doubtful if he should really assist this girl but he assured himself that helping this girl was the best option. Something inside him kept telling him that he should help her till the end but that seemed quite creepy even to him! He also wanted to return to Bell with good news rather than a bitter attitude. Although, he wanted sometime away from his comrade, he wanted to make himself trust their recent new comrade, Lili. He has also been wondering for himself on the reason for disliking Lili in the first place! She may look like Amy 10 years ago so how could he hate her? For now, one thing was for sure. He was sure of his choice of helping this little girl. After all, he actually has a soft spot for short people.

"Before I help you..." Will closes his eyes before patting her head playfully, "I will need to prepare a few things I could find in the dungeon."

* * *

It was now noon, one of the very few breaks Hestia could even hope for. This lunch break from work would only last for an hour so she had more than enough time to carry out her with her own business. Hestia wanted to save up for her familia so her lunch for today was a very average sandwich, which she made this morning after Bell and Will left. She even tried to bribe Hephaestus with her extra sandwich to increase her break time but that plan was easily destroyed by the pure seriousness of Hephaestus. With that done, she had two sandwiches she could eat. She was even hoping to somehow bump into Bell leaving the dungeon to give him that extra sandwich but she saw no signs of him just yet. Hestia obviously knew that Bell would be grinding in the dungeon until late in the afternoon but she also wanted to hope that he would prove her guess wrong.

After taking a bite from her hastily made sandwich, Hestia lets out a short sigh, "Hephaestus is really working my head off..." she started complaining with some soft mutters as she sat casually near the fountain, "she knows that I'm not used to working at all like this yet all the jobs she assigns me need to much of my focus and energy! Those documents I need to sort aren't even close to finishing..."

Her plan was too stay by the fountain so that she may bump into Bell if ever he leaves the dungeon early but that one plan ended up quite differently. Instead of catching a glimpse of her beloved Bell, she spotted her more mysterious member, Will, leaving the dungeon. Where was Bell?! As soon as Will appeared, a short girl rushed to his side and starting talking to him about something. Hestia felt really intrigued by this. She grabs the container with her last sandwich in it and approaches Will.

Will quickly notices her presence and turns to his goddess, "Didn't expect to see you here, Hestia-sama! I was just about to leave the dungeon so-"

"Where's Bell-kun?" Hestia bluntly asks before Will could finish his words.

"Ah? Bell? He went to get a supporter and ended up venturing without me! You don't have to worry about him since he already overtook my progress in stats by a long shot... Anyway, I'll be partnering up with Annie for a while so please tell Bell that if you see him, Hestia-sama."

He's leaving Bell-kun for a girl like that? Something doesn't feel right... Hestia ponders about this as she blankly stares at Will, I know one thing for sure ever since he joined my familia and that one thing is his overprotecting nature of his towards Bell-kun! Something must have happened!

"Anyways, I'll be going to meet an old friend of mine! His name is Maru for short and he should be somewhere in the district as a potion merchant. With that said... I'll be seeing you later, Hestia-sama!" Will gestures Annie to follow him and starts to leave until he suddenly stopped after taking a few steps. He turns to Hestia a bit and says, "Oh, and tell Bell that I'm not angry at him anymore. I'm planning to help Ann with this predicament of hers so I'll be needing to leave the party with Bell for a while. I hope you understand, Hestia-sama."

The words of Will didn't make the goddess feel any better. He left Bell-kun after some kind of argument? She didn't even want to think it was true! She was not angry at Will in any way but those words that came from his mouth did not sound very convincing. Hestia wanted to stop Will from carrying out his plan but his determination in his decision was frightening! It was already too late anyway. In just a few seconds, the figure of both Will and Annie blurred and left Hestia all to herself. Will said something about helping a girl so Hestia had nothing against it but the fact where he left Bell with a supporter they never met was a very much legitimate reason to get angry.

After a few seconds, Hestia muttered a few words with a hint of depression between the lines.

"Then who will eat this other sandwich with me...?" Hestia felt depressed, knowing the fact that there was no one she could spend her day with. "Here goes another day of eating my lunch alone..." Hestia quietly makes her way to the fountain with the extra sandwich clutched in her hand. She was just about to take a bite out of her extra sandwich until-

"Excuse me," an unfamiliar voice was heard by Hestia, "but do you know anyone by the name, Annie? She's my supporter and yet she's nowhere to be seen even when I looked around the area. I'm actually starting to get a bit worried about her..."

Hestia had to turn her head to the right to notice the speaker of those words. From there, she could already notice the appearance of the speaker since she was already right by her side! It was like her presence has just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. This mysterious woman had her deep hazel hair tied in a ponytail and this color of her hair greatly complemented her hazel eyes. She was a woman of fair height, being around 5'6 in Hestia's vision. She wore a bright brown cloak which covered her whole body and had a rapier slung on the belt of her outfit. She was like a girl ready for an adventure but her face actually had a somewhat natural beauty if you looked hard enough.

"Wait... Is this girl you're looking for by any chance a short girl with a cloak just like yours? A girl named Annie was here a minute ago and left with a member of my familia."

"She went to town again? I must be going then!" the mysterious woman was just about to quickly walk away from Hestia but she quickly cancels her actions and thanks Hestia, "By the way, thanks for telling me that. My name is Amy Suvota and I hope we can see each other again!"

"Wait... don't-" Without another word stated, Amy quickly sprinted into town. This caused a bit of frustration to the goddess, "leave just yet... Why does everyonne keep leaving before I finish what I have to say?!"

By the way... That girl's name is Amy right? Hestia suddenly remembers that name, isn't that the very same name Will kept muttering whenever I see him asleep? Oh well... I'll tell him about this later and the three of us can eat the other special sandwiches I'll be making!

Pumped up, Hestia finally took a bite out off her extra sandwich.

 **A/N: Sorry for the slightly late update, minna! Like I said, I'm already having school so my updates may take slightly longer than usual. I hope you will all understand the situation I am i right now and continue to support this story. To make it clear, 3 new OCs appeared in this story and they are Annie, Amy, and Maru (by name only). Next chapter will now be about Bell so look forward to it alright? I'll try my best for all of you! Any advice to help me with my story will be greatly appreciated!**


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